Process of and apparatus for treating badminton shuttlecocks



Nov. 11, 1941; v D. H. PoLLlTT 2,262,045v I PROCESS OFl AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING BADMINTON SHUTTLECOCKS Filed DSC. 24, 1940 to dry and then redippinga very rable, and resilient coating iseflected.

Patented Nov. 1l, 1941 PROCESS oFANn APPARATUS Fon TREAT- ING BADMmToN snUTTLEcocxs i Donovan Hoult Pollitt, Leaside, Ontario, Canada,

assignor to Pennsylvania Rubber Company, .a

corporation of Pennsylvania December 24, i940, serieme. 371,554 In Canada July 9, 1940 Application 3 Claims..

' This invention 4relates to treating badminton shuttlecocks. Badminton lshuttlecocks consist of a headA and a vaner generallyspeaking. The

vane usually 'consists of a plurality of feathers the quills of which are insertedin holes arranged around the periphery of the inner or upper face of the head. The`quill portions of stitching,` and: lacquer or. adhesive is brushed onto the quill part of the feathers and the stitching. 'Ihe llacquer or adhesive reinforces and protects,A the quills and stitching, retains the stitching in position, and bonds or cements the quills in the holes in the head. By the usual brushing method, however, it is'impossible to apply the lacquer or adhesive evenly and uniformly and the process is slow because each individual shuttlecock must be treated by hand. Nor is it practical to apply by brush a lacquer or cement of a viscosity` that will penetrate all the feathers are joined by two or more rows 'of the interstices between the stitching and thef quills and the crevices between the quills and the head. The object of my invention is to de- .vise a process whereby the adhesive' or lacquer K may be quickly and evenly applied in such a manner that it will enter the interstices between the stitchingl and the quillsand the crevices between and adjacent to the quills and th'e lsides of the holes in the head, and thus obtain an eective bond or union of all component elements of the shuttlecock and a iiexible durable coating on that portion or the feathers likely to come in contact with the yracquet during the course of play.

The object of this invention is attained by inserting the head of the shuttlecock in an openended masking ring one end of which ts in airtightcontact with the inner"e`nd ofthe head, the other end oi which extends beyond the outer end of the head, and dipping the shuttlecock head rst in-a treating liquid to such depth that.

the masking ring is completely immersed and the liquid iiows over the head and around the vane of the shuttlecock to the desired extent anafor sumcient time to permit of completesaturation of theparts.v

ing from whicheurther details thereof may be obtained; I

Figure l is a longitudinal section of a shuttlecock with masking ring and-handle attachedthereto ready for dipping;

Figure 2 is af diagrammatic plan view oa` treatingl tank showing a rack supported thereabove in position for draining;

Figure 3 is a side view partly broken away of g l a treating tank showing the rack in position for dipping the shuttlecock and in dotted lines raised position for draining; and

Figure 4 a diagrammatic perspective view partly broken away showing a shuttlecock in `position in an arbor press for removing the same from the masking ring.

Corresponding numerals in the diierentgures refer to corresponding parts.

` In Figure 1 is shown a Vshuttlecock-compris- 'ing a' substantially semi-cylindrical cork head III and a vane I I consisting of al plurality of feathers fthe quillportions of which are inserted in holes extending around the periphery of the head l0. The barbs have been shorn 4from the quills for a certain distance from the ends of the feathers above the head of the shuttlecock and two rows of stitching Ila extend around an'd betweenrthe quills. .The stitching strengthens the quills and maintains them in proper relative position.

To treat the quills with adhesive or lacquer an open-ended masking ring or collar I2 of slightly smaller diameter than the inner or upper end ofthe head is forced over the head as illustrated in Figure -1. The diameter ofthe masking collar I2 is such as to slightly compress the cork of which the head is'made andV provide an air-tight'vcontact therewith.`

The headt irprovided with a cent1-a1 aperture I0, which in the -flnished shuttlecock contains a weight of' lead or similar suitable material. This weight is usually added after the shuttlecock as a-whole has been otherwise completed, as de- .scribed in Canadian Patent No. 343,728, granted It is an important feature ofthe invention that a less viscous liquid may be used in this process than in brushing, so that a more even coating and a more thorough degree .of saturation is obtained. By permitting the initial coateven, du-

The invention is hereafter more particularly described and is illustrated in the attached drawto me August '1, 1934. At the siege or manufaeture with which thev present invention is concerned the hole IIlis' open and empty, and a dip,- A ping handle I3 having are-duced .threaded VendI The diameter of the body of the rod which forma portion I3* is screwed into the said hole lll.

the dipping handle is preferably considerably greater than the diameter of the. threaded end portion, .so that'a shoulder is formed which is adapted to engage the inner face of the head [when the handle is ,screwed in place and keep a portion of the head free of the treating liquid.

'I'he dipping handle Ifmay b e graspedandthe shuttlecock dipped head first intoI 'a liquid to such depth that the masking ring is completely immersed and the liquid ows' over the head and around the quills of the feathers to the desired extent. Ordinarily the feathers are treated up to and slightly above 'the ahorn parts of the quills. In practice the shuttlecock will be'leit in the adhesive or` lacquer a suitable period to effect complete saturation. The air trapped in the ring I2 will-prevent N from entering the ring and contacting the outer end of the head. The liquid-will completely cover the quills, the stitching, and the outer edges of the upper or inner face of the head and will fill and/or cover any spaces that there may be between the quills and the head of the shuttlecock at the points where the quills enter the head. v

kAfter the shuttlecockl has been removed from the liquid a spray of compressed air from a nozzle Il (Fig. 3) is directed against it to remove excess liquid, leaving a 'thin even film. The

shuttlecock, with the masking ring still attached thereto may be permitted to dry either at ordi- .port I5 for the masking ring I2 and a Apunch I6 adapted to enter the open end of the ring I2 and engage the outer end of 'the head I0 and force it back out of the ring.

For commercial work a plurality of dipping handles I3 will be secured to a rack I l which consists of a frame -and a plurality of crossthe liquid trayv to be carried past the supports. 'I'he tray is then dropped onto the supports which hold itin an elevated position above the tank to permit'the lacquer to dry, the excess liquid dripping into the tank. In this position the spray of airv may be applied thereto. 4 vWhile the conventional construction of shuttlecock has been described, it will be understood that the invention would be applicable to shuttlecocks in which the vane is composed of material other than feathers. For purposes of ornament or identification colored lacquers may be used instead ofthe ordinary white or colorless lacquer or adhesive.

The applicant does not desire to be limited to the specific process and apparatus described and ofthe substance of the head into air-tight conpieces IlEL on which the handles I3 are mounted as illustratedin Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of the method of dipping by means of the rack. `.'Ihe shuttlecoeks and masking rings are mounted on the handles I3 in the way already described, and the frame I8 is inverted over a tank I9, the edges of the frame resting on the edges of the tank or on special supports therefor (not shown).

'I'he level of the liquid Nin the tank is main-- tained by means of a supply tank 2I and a feed .pipe 22 in which is located a oat valve 23.

At each corner of the tank- I9 is a post I9'L on which are supports 2l pivotally mounted on pins 25 and engaging stops Ii'to hold them in outwardly extending rack-supporting position. The supports 24 are swung back into the position illustrated in dotted'lines in Figure 3, when the tray is mounted on the tank I9 for immersing the shuttlecoeks in the liquid 2l. They are thenA swung back to the supporting position and when the tray `is lifted up it engages the supports 24 and pushes them up suiilciently .to permitthe illustrated by way of example.

I claim as my invention:

1. 'A step in the production of a badminton shuttlecock which consists in inserting the'head of a head-and-vane assembly in an open-ended, cylindrical, masking ring of rigid material of greater length than such head, with compression tact with the ring, the ring extending beyond the outer end of the head, dipping the assembly head first in a bath of coating liquid with immersion'of the ring-encircled head and of the base of the vane and with the trapping within the outer end of the ring and upon the outer end of the head of a protective body of air, removing the assembly from the bath, and driving the coated article from the ring by pressure exerted through the open end of the 4ring upon the outer end of the head.

2. A step in the production of a badminton shuttlecock which consists in inserting the head of a head-and-vane assembly in an open-ended,

cylindrical, masking ring of rigid material of greater length than such head, with compression of the substance of the head into air-tight contact with the ring, the ring extending beyond the outer end of the head, securing removably to the head=through its inner face a. dipping handle, dipping the assembly by' means of the dipping handle head ilrst 'in afbath of coating liquid with immersion of the ring-encircled head and of the base of the vane and with the trapping within the 'outer end of the ring and upon the outer end of the head of a protective body of air, removing the assembly from the bath, and freeing the coatedarticle from the dipping handle and from the masking ring.

I A3. Apparatus fr dipping shuttlecoeks includb cock compressed to air-tight union in its bore and being of a length exceeding the length of thehead of the-shuttlecock.

DONOVAN HOULT PoLmT'r.

ough the rear surface thereof, and the ring g adapted to receive the head of the shuttle- 

